There has never been a more exciting time to join Wirral Council. We’ve got ambitious targets to meet and to achieve everything we have promised to our residents, we need people who are ready to deliver the very best for our communities and show how they can #BeTheDifference. Our vision is to secure the best possible future for our residents, defined by the community prosperity we create and supported by our excellent people and services. If you strive to #BeTheDifference and want to be at the heart of our change and improvement journey, then this could be the perfect job for you.
Grounds Maintenance Operative (GMO)
About the Role:
An exciting and challenging opportunity has been created to join our Cemetery Grounds Maintenance team who maintain various Cemeteries within Wirral.
We are looking at a GMO to help provide an excellent service for local people. You will help implement the Wirral Parks Standard which will involve working with staff, Friends Groups, service users and external organisations.
The successful candidate will join the Cemeteries and Crematorium Team based within Landican Cemetery. The Grounds Maintenance Team work to provide a comprehensive grounds maintenance service to Landican and Heswall Cemeteries.
About the candidate:
We would like to hear from you if you have worked with a Grounds Maintenance Team and have experience of mowing and vegetation control, maintenance, and management of shrub stock and in addition undertake cleaning operations and all other duties which include assisting at burials and within the crematorium to the relevant grade.
You will have the following essential knowledge and skills:
Health and Safety awareness.
Full Driving Licence.
As well as being able to carry out a full range of maintenance duties, it will be desirable if you were skilled in at least one of the following:
Compact Ride-On mowing machines.
Experience in use of industrial horticultural machinery, strimmer, backpack blower and hedge cutter.
The postholders key tasks will include:
Working within a Cemetery Grounds Maintenance team.
Assisting and implementing a grass cutting schedule.
Working with plants
Assisting with Grave digging Team
Assisting the Crematorium Team with the provision of chapels.
Carry out other Amenity work when required.
Possession of the following Desirable Criteria will be advantageous.
Previous experience of working within a cemetery and crematorium environment.
Towing of Trailers.
NVQ2 in Amenity Horticulture.
If you are a Wirral resident, are unemployed or out of work, and require help with your application, please contact Involve Northwest’s employment and skills team on info@involvenorthwest.org.uk or contact 0151 644 4500 or 0151 652 4349.
If you’re already a Wirral Council employee, and as part of our Talent Strategy, we’re committed to strengthening opportunities for our people to learn, grow, progress, and thrive. For many of you, this may be preparing and applying for your next role with us, and we're passionate about ensuring you feel supported throughout your internal recruitment experience. Please get in touch if you want to know more about some of the ways in which we could support you by emailing recruitment@wirral.gov.uk
Working at Wirral
You’ll also want to know what it’s like to work here so, as a start:
Our values are more than just pieces of paper on our walls! We’ve all played a role in developing these, so they reflect the immense pride we have in what we do, what matters to us, what inspires us and inform how we think, approach things, and behave.
We believe in ensuring staff are well looked after, staff wellbeing is a priority for us. We’re serious about recognising and rewarding people for the great things they do. You’ll benefit from our track record of developing, growing, and investing in our people.
We have a range of staff benefits including staff discounts, an excellent pension scheme which includes a generous employer contribution rate, immediate life cover and ill-health protection. We have a strong flexible working approach, hybrid working, family-friendly employment initiatives and an annual leave package starting with 28 days leave plus public holidays.
We have an inclusive, engaged culture, everyone has a voice, everyone is valued for their contribution and understands the role they play in delivering our strategic priorities.
Each voice is heard, each contribution valued. We embrace diversity in our workforce and recognise it is critical to our success. We support an inclusive culture that champions differences and nurtures a sense of belonging. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds, who share our values and our commitment to inclusion to apply for roles with us.
We want you to be your best at work, we create the conditions to help you thrive and we mirror this in our recruitment process. If you’d like us to do anything differently during the recruitment process to make it barrier-free and as accessible as possible, please contact recruitment@wirral.gov.uk
Please note that in accordance with the Council’s policy, employees who are in a formal redeployment situation will be considered in the first instance for all vacancies.
It is Council policy not to re-appoint any employee who has left under the terms of the Council's Early Voluntary Retirement (EVR) scheme or who have left with a voluntary severance (VS) package, unless in exceptional circumstances.
Applications will be accepted until midnight on the closing date.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications.
Applications can only be accepted through the Jobs page following registration. Forms received via the post will not be processed.
All applicants invited to interview must evidence their right to work in the UK.
The job description and other supporting documents will not be accessible once the vacancy closing date has passed so if a copy is required you should download it now.
We do not accept applications or CV’s from recruitment agencies, unless otherwise stated. Therefore, any candidates submitted via a recruitment agency will not be considered for this role.
